Book Haul

Hey! Book haul time (...yes I got more books....oops!)
The first book I've had for a while but I realised I haven't put it in a haul. It's Extras by Scott Westerfeld. Blurb below:

These days it's all about the fame. As if life isn't hard enough when you're fifteen, Aya Fuse's face rank of 451,369 is so low, she's a total nobody. An Extra. But when she meets a clique of girls who pull crazy, dangerous tricks in secret, Aya sees a way to get her popularity rating to soar...Aya is sure she's destined for a life in the spotlight, and if she can just 'kick' the story to show everyone how 

intensely cool the Sly Girls are, then the spotlight will be on her. But is Aya really prepared to be propelled out of Extra-land and into a world of instant fame, celebrity...and extreme danger?

I really enjoyed the Uglies trilogy, so I am really excited to read this spin-off, set a few months after the ending of Specials, with completely new characters, setting and plot. 

The second book I ordered in to my library. It's Across the Universe by Beth Revis. Here's la blurb:

Seventeen-year-old Amy joins her parents as frozen cargo aboard the vast spaceship Godspeed and expects to awaken on a new planet, three hundred years in the future. Never could she have known that her frozen slumber would come to an end fifty years too soon and that she would be thrust into the brave new world of a spaceship that lives by its own rules.Amy quickly realizes that her awakening was no mere computer malfunction. Someone - one of the few thousand inhabitants of the spaceship - tried to kill her. And if Amy doesn't do something soon, her parents will be next.Now Amy must race to unlock Godspeed's hidden secrets. But out of her list of murder suspects, there's only one who matters: Elder, the future leader of the ship and the love she could never have seen coming.Amy quickly realizes that her awakening was no mere computer malfunction. Someone - one of the few thousand inhabitants of the spaceship - tried to kill her. And if Amy doesn't do something soon, her parents will be next.Now Amy must race to unlock Godspeed's hidden secrets. But out of her list of murder suspects, there's only one who matters: Elder, the future leader of the ship and the love she could never have seen coming.Now Amy must race to unlock Godspeed's hidden secrets. But out of her list of murder suspects, there's only one who matters: Elder, the future leader of the ship and the love she could never have seen coming.

I am so excited for this book! I have been dying to read it for so long but I've had too many other books that I needed to read. I have finally got it! I have a feeling this trilogy will be one I will want to own, but I'm not sure, so I've ordered it from the library first ;) It's a sci-fi, so of course I'm so excited! I can't wait to read the other two books, A Million Suns and Shades of Earth.

The third book is what I am currently reading, and that's Pandemonium by Lauren Oliver. It's the second book in the Delirium trilogy (you can read a brief description of the first book, Delirium, here) and I have been wanting to read it for so long! Here's the blurb:

Lena's been to the very edge. She's questioned love and the life-changing and agonising choices that come with it.She's made her decision.But can she survive the consequences?

Not very detailed, I know. But I like it that way - doesn't spoil the book, which I like :) I'm only on page 100 and something but I'm enjoying it so far!

The fourth book is Requiem by Lauren Oliver, which is the third and final book in the Delirium trilogy. I'm not going to include the blurb because I don't want to read any spoilers for Pandemonium, so you can find the blurb here.

Another book I picked up is Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs. Le blurb:

A mysterious island. An abandoned orphanage. A strange collection of very curious photographs. a horrific family tragedy sets sixteen-year-old Jacob journeying to a remote island off the coast of Wales, where he discovers the crumbling ruins of Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children. As Jacob explores its abandoned bedrooms and hallways, it becomes clear that the children were more than just peculiar. They may have been dangerous. They may have been quarantined on a deserted island for good reason. And somehow—impossible though it seems—they may still be alive.This was a bit of a spontaneous choice. I've heard such great things about this book, so I decided to order it in to my library (along with Pandemoneum, Requiem and Across the Universe) I was going to order in the sequel, Hollow City, but I decided to try the first one and see if I enjoyed it before ordering in the second book. It's full of these beautiful, vintage pictures that are very peculiar. I am really excited to read it and look through those beautiful photos.

The last book I picked up is for a book award called the Carnegie Medal - information about that here. In my school, and a few others, they hold this annual competition, in which the books shortlisted for the Carnegie Medal are sent to the schools participating. Pupils read these books and review them and one person will be chosen for each book, based on their review. The chosen pupils will then be put into a group with other people chosen for that book and as a group they pick a few scenes to dramatise. The next day, the group performs these scenes, trying to persuade judges that this book should be given the Carnegie Medal. I did it last year and the year before and it was so much fun! This is the last year I can do it, so I really hope I get picked! The book I picked up is Blood Family by Anne Fine. The blurb is below:

Edward is four years old when he is locked away with his mother by her abusive, alcoholic partner, Harris. By the time an elderly neighbour spots his pale face peering through a crack in the boarded-up window and raises the alarm, he is seven.

Rescue comes, but lasting damage has been done. Sent to live with a kindly foster family, and then adopted, Edward struggles to adapt to normal life. Even as a teenager it's still clear to his new family and schoolmates there's something odd about him. Then one fateful day, Edward catches a glimpse of himself in a photograph. What he sees shocks him to the core - a vision of Harris. Was this monster his father all along? And does that mean that, deep down, another Harris is waiting to break out. 

Every step of progress Edward has made swiftly begins to unravel, and he has to decide whether his blood will determine his future. Then one fateful day, Edward catches a glimpse of himself in a photograph. What he sees shocks him to the core - a vision of Harris. Was this monster his father all along? And does that mean that, deep down, another Harris is waiting to break out Every step of progress Edward has made swiftly begins to unravel, and he has to decide whether his blood will determine his future. Every step of progress Edward has made swiftly begins to unravel, and he has to decide whether his blood will determine his future.

I have to say, didn't love this book. It was a little slow to begin with and then it picked up. But just over halfway through the book, I started to find it a bit... eh. The writing was really good, I just wasn't a fan of some of the characters and Eddie, as a main character, was a bit odd. He became hooked on drugs and then on alcohol and I just found it a bit weird. It was okay, but I wouldn't want to re-read this book.

That's all the books! I hope you enjoyed this and have an idea of some books you'd like to read next.

Thanks for reading

xoxo,

Bethan

Happy Mother's Day

 Hi, guys. Happy Mother's Day!

{Daffodils are my mum's favourite flower :) Photo via}

This is just a quick post to say thank you to my mum. For always being there for me. For laughing with me. For holding me when I cry. For picking me up when I fall. Thank you. I love you more than words can say and you mean the world to me.

Thanks for reading!

xoxo,

Bethan

Creative Thursday

Hi, guys! Another poem. Feeling kinda down at the moment :( So I wrote this. Bit depressing, I'm sorry. Just feeling a bit upset, so my writing tends to express it.

{photo via}

I don't know why I

Feel this way.

The tears just keep on

Rolling.

I know I shouldn't

Feel this way.

But the bitter feelings keep on

Stirring.

It's wrong for me to
Feel this way.

You're doing nothing

Wrong.

I wish I wouldn't

Feel this way.

But things just keep on

Happening.

Things that make me

Feel this way

Keep building up until I

Shatter.

I do try not to

Feel this way.

I keep on smiling but my heart keeps

Breaking.

Thanks for reading.

xoxo,

Bethan

The Elemental Book Covers Tag

Bonjour!
Today, I'm going to be doing the Elemental Book Covers tag, as you can see by the title of this post. I saw some Youtubers I watch do this tag and it looked fun - I have a list of tags they have done that look really cool, so expect more of these in the future. I watched Ariel, from arielbissett and Christine, from polandbananasbooks do this tag, but I know so many other YouTubers have done this tag!

Question 1:
Find a book with water on the cover and a book with blue on the cover.

Okay! For a book with water on the cover, I chose City of Ashes by Cassandra Clare and for a book with blue on the cover I chose, of course, The Fault in our Stars by John Green.

See? Water at the bottom :) And blue all over the cover of TFIOS.
I really enjoyed City of Ashes - it is the second book in the Mortal Instruments series. The 6th book comes out May 27th, which I am so excited for! The Fault in our Stars is a brilliant book, you should definitely read it if you haven't - if you haven't, I don't know where you've been...

Question 2:
Find a book with fire on the cover and a book with red on the cover.

For a book with fire, I chose the Hobbit by J. R. R. Tolkien and for a book with red on the cover, I chose the third book in The Hunger Games trilogy, Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins.

I read The Hobbit a while ago, around when I was ten I think, so I don't remember much. I know I really enjoyed it though! I'm hoping to re-read it sometime this year. Mockingjay...I have mixed feelings. It's definitely not my favourite in the trilogy, but I think it is still a really good book. I don't know how I feel about the ending...I don't know. I did really like this book though, it just wasn't my favourite.

Question 3:
Find a book with something earth related on the cover and a book with green on the cover.

For a book with something earth related, I chose the Tales of Beedle the Bard, by J. K. Rowling. However, I didn't know if this would count because it's a spin off of the Harry Potter series, so I also chose Anne of Green Gables by L. M. Montgomery, which I read when I was younger. I still have it on my bookshelf because it has a really pretty cover. For a book with green on the cover, I chose Uglies by Scott Westerfeld.

The Tales of Beedle the Bard has vines and a tree trunk on it, see? But just in case, Anne of Green Gables has a tree on it. Isn't it a gorgeous cover?! I love The Tales of Beedle the Bard - the stories in there are great, with Albus Dumbledore's notes about the stories afterwards. I remembering liking Anne of Green Gables as well and I love Uglies.

Question 4:

Find a book with air on the cover and a book with white/grey on the cover.

Okay, I don't know how you show air...Like fog? Or...I don't know! I picked Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire because Harry is flying, so air rushing around him? I really didn't know for this one! And for a cover with white/grey on it, I picked the Rise of Nine by Pittacus Lore. It's the third book in the Lorien Legacies, which is a sci-fi series. I really like them!

Harry's flying, and his hair and robes and being pushed backwards, so air? I was really confused on that one! The Rise of Nine has white/grey sky on it. They are really good books, please pick them up if you're a fan of sci-fi because I really like them!

And finally,

Question 5:

Find a book with blue, red, green and white on the cover.

For this, I chose Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince.

Blue around the title, green for Harry Potter and around J. K. Rowling's name, red for the fire and white for Albus Dumbledore's beard. Success! Love this book as well, the Harry Potter series is amazing!

So that is the Elemental Book Covers tag! I had a lot of fun trying to find these covers. I hope you enjoyed this post.

Thanks for reading <3

xoxo,

Bethan

Creative Thursday

Hi, guys! I hope you've had a good week :) It's raining (...again) so I wrote this poem. I wrote something like this a while ago, but I didn't post it so I decided to change it a bit and make this. Enjoy ^_^

Rain, falling around me,
Dripping and splashing and
Blurring my vision.
But this is not rain
It is my tears.

Tears, streaming down my face.
They burn my eyes
And wet my cheeks.
They keep on falling,
I cannot wipe them away.

I feel lost, alone.
I pray for someone,
Anyone to hear me.
But nobody hears and the tears
Keep falling.

Rain, real rain now.
Dripping on my clothes and
Mixing with my salty tears
I can shelter from this rain,
But I cannot shelter from my tears.

Thanks for reading <3

xoxo,
Bethan

New Stuff

Hi! A really short post today, just to say that I've got some new features on my blog. Just over there *points to the right*
Underneath my little welcome-y thing, I have buttons that link to my profiles on Pinterest, Goodreads and Bloglovin', so if you'd like to follow me on any of those sites, just click on the button and you'll arrive at my profile. Thank you Rose for doing that for me :)
I also have a little menu bar, which I made myself - I'm quite proud of it ^.^ There's a link to an About page, where I just talk a bit about myself and this blog and another one to a Links page, where I have listed blogs that I like and that you should go over and check out. I've also made a Home button, so that once you've finished perusing those two pages, you can come back on over to the main part.
And finally, I now have a button - thanks again to Rose for doing that for me :D - so if you want to take that and put it on the side of your blog or on a Links page, I will do the same for you - swapsies :)

Sorry it was such a short post today. I didn't have any idea what to post and I thought, since there are a few new things, I could explain them so that you have something to read!
Thanks for reading <3

xoxo,
Bethan

Creative Thursday

Hello! Now I know it's actually Friday but I had no internet last night, so I couldn't post! But it is here now!

Those rainy days

Spent in bed with

Warm blankets and

Big jumpers.

A good book and

A warm drink.

Those lazy days

Spent curled up with

Messy hair and

Comfy clothes.

The sound of wind and

rain battering the windows and

A stack of books next to you.

Those days spent at home

Where you feel sleepy and

Peaceful.

Warm and

Safe and 

Loved.

Thanks for reading <3

xoxo,
Bethan

The Liebster Award

I was nominated by the wonderful Celia, so please go and check out her blog!

Okay, the rules!

1. Thank the blogger that nominated you and leave a link to their blog.

2. Nominate a few of your favourite bloggers and let them know on their blog.

3. The Liebster award button must be in the blog post.

4. You must answer a list of 11 questions that the blogger who nominated you has written.

5. At the end of the post, you must write a list of 11 questions for the bloggers you have nominated.

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1. Do you have any pets and what are their names?

I do! I have a 3 year old golden retriever called Ruby. She's very lazy :)

2. What is your favourite book?

Oooohhh, I have many...I love The Hunger Games and the Divergent trilogy, as well as The Mortal Instruments and The Infernal Devices. I love TFIOS and Harry Potter is brilliant as well. Those are the main ones!

3. What is your favourite blog?
Again, I have lots! I love Rosie's blog Truly. Madly. Deeply. and Mackenzie's blog Think. Eat. Write. Read. But I love so many other blogs!

4. What was the best day of your life and why?
I can't answer this! So many days, so many memories. Any day where I've been surrounded by my family or friends, where I felt happy. Those are always the best days.

5. What do you love most about your best friend(s)?
She makes me laugh when I don't feel like smiling. She makes me a better person. She loves me for who I am.

6. What do you want to do with your life?
I would love to be a writer but I can't see that happening :( So I have no idea!

7. What is your favourite smell?
I love the smell of vanilla, lavender, freshly cut grass, chocolate. But my favourite smell has to be the smell of books - old and new. There's nothing that calms me more.

8. What are your fears?
I was so tempted to write oblivion again! Bugs and losing my loved ones.

9. What has been your craziest dream?
Crazy as in 'I want this to happen, this is insane, this would never happen' or 'What just happened'? The first one - I had a dream that I went to see Catching Fire and the people next to us would not stop talking! So I turned around and started ranting and telling them to shut up when I realised it was the cast of Catching Fire talking about that scene.....and then me and Jennifer Lawrence became best friends. The second one - I had a short dream where Charl slept over mine and she woke me up in the middle of the night and was shaking, with fear in her eyes and said "The change. It's happening" and turned into a sloth......

10. If a tree falls in a forest and there is no-one around to hear it, does it make a sound?
Yes. I don't understand these "unanswerable life questions". This is just science!

11. What are you doing right now? What are you wearing? What can you see? What can you smell? What can you feel? What is your moment like?
I am sitting on my sofa writing this blog post, listening to music (Imagine Dragons) while I eat a cupcake :) I am wearing jeans, a blue t-shirt, a hoodie and fluffy socks. I can see my mum and my dad, my dog on my feet and the TV. I can smell cupcake smells, which is delicious, and my book, which also smells delicious. I can feel my dog on my feet and my hair tickling my cheek because it's falling out of its plait. My moment is relaxed and warm, safe and happy and sleepy.

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Well that was fun!
I nominate:
Charl

Rose

Mackenzie

Brooke

Laurel

Catherine

Here are your 11 questions:

1. What is your favourite colour?

2. What is a happy memory you have?

3. What is your favourite film?

4. What is your favourite book/book series?

5. Why do you love your best friend(s)?

6. What is your favourite blog?

7. What is your favourite smell?

8. Outside or inside?

9. What makes you smile?

10. What is one of your talents?

11. What is the best present you have ever received? You can name more than one!

Thanks for reading <3

xoxo,
Bethan

Song of the Week

And this distance between us

Has made my heart as weak as

Silk that's frayed

I love this song! Thank you Charly for telling me about it - I have played it on repeat ever since I first heard it....*sigh*

Occasionally, I will do a Song of the Week, when I have no idea what else to post :)

Thanks for reading <3

xoxo,

Bethan

Creative Thursday

It has returned! *dramatic music* Creative Thursday has begun again! I have decided that my writer's block will no long stop me from writing and am forcing myself to write. I'm starting slowly, with small poems but hopefully I should be writing stories again soon.

{I took this picture and edited it. No stealing please ^^}

Best Friends.

Laugh together

After one word.

Cry together

After one tear.

Smile together

After one memory.

A Best Friend is someone

That you love more than 

Anything.

You see them smile and your smile is

Brighter.

You hear them laugh and your heart is

Warm.

They hug you and you hold on

For as long as you can.

They give you a note and you keep it

Forever.

Everybody should have that

One person.

Their Best Friend.

Because when you see them

The world gets

Better.

Who is this person in your life?

Thanks for reading <3

xoxo

Bethan

Book Haul!

Hi, guys! Today, I thought I'd do a book haul. I haven't done one in a while and have a couple of new books to show you!
The first book is Stolen by Lucy Christopher. Here's the blurb:

Sixteen year old Gemma is kidnapped from Bangkok airport and taken to the Australian Outback. This wild and desolate landscape becomes almost a character in the book, so vividly is it described. Ty, her captor, is no stereotype. He is young, fit and completely gorgeous. This new life in the wilderness has been years in the planning. He loves only her, wants only her. Under the hot glare of the Australian sun, cut off from the world outside, can the force of his love make Gemma love him back? 
I have nearly finished The Legacy, so will be reading this next because it sounds amazing! The story takes the form of a letter, written by Gemma to her captor, reflecting on those months in the outback. I am really looking forward to reading this!

The next book is The Killing Woods by Lucy Christopher. The blurb is below:

Emily’s dad is accused of murdering a teenage girl. Emily is sure he is innocent, but what happened that night in the woods behind their house where she used to play as a child? Determined to find out, she seeks out Damon Hillary, the enigmatic boyfriend of the murdered girl. He also knows these woods. Maybe they could help each other. But he’s got secrets of his own about games that are played in the dark.

My friend was reading it and I thought it sounded really good, so I read the first chapter - it was quite good so when I went to my local library I saw it on the shelf and decided to try it. I don't know if I'll like it, but it's worth a try!

The final book is Paper Towns by John Green. Le blurb: 

Quentin Jacobsen has spent a lifetime loving the magnificently adventurous Margo Roth Spiegelman from afar. So when she cracks open a window and climbs back into his life—dressed like a ninja and summoning him for an ingenious campaign of revenge—he follows.
After their all-nighter ends and a new day breaks, Q arrives at school to discover that Margo, always an enigma, has now become a mystery. But Q soon learns that there are clues—and they’re for him. Urged down a disconnected path, the closer he gets, the less Q sees of the girl he thought he knew.

I want to read all of the John Green books because I loved The Fault in our Stars when I read it earlier last year. I can't wait to read Paper Towns because it doesn't sound like anything I've read before.

Well, I hope this book haul has given you some ideas of what to read next!
I will be posting a Creative Thursday this week *cheers and applause*. Yes I have finally overcome my writer's block and will be posting a poem this Thursday!
Thanks for reading guys <3

xoxo,
Bethan

Hello, Spring!

Photo from Pinterest, but I added the text. I'm quite proud ^.^

Hi, guys! Look, my snow has gone! That's because it is now Spring, although it doesn't feel like it with all this rain...

Spring means lots of things to me. 

It means the Catching Fire DVD. 

The Divergent movie.
Easter.

Sunshine (hopefully). 

Flowers finally blooming. 

Longer days. 

The smell of freshly cut grass. 

Dresses come out of hiding. 

Warm days and cool breezes.

Days spent outside. 

Dangling my feet in the stream outside my friend's house.

Reading in the garden.

Long walks.

A new beginning.

A fresh start.

What does Spring mean to you?

Thanks for reading <3

xoxo

Bethan